Machine gun



Dec. 13f193s.

c J. MICHAL, JR 2,139,691

MACHINE GUN 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 23, 1956 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

1938- c. J. MICHAL, JR

MACHINE GUN 5 sheets sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1936 fawfis era/mad. INVENTOR ATTORNEY.

Q. 1 w a Q -1 8- c; J. MICHAL, JR 2,139,691

MACHINE GUN Filed Sept. 25, 1956' 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 4 ATTORNEY.

Dec. 13, 1938. c J. MICHAL, JR

MACHINE GUN 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 25, 1956 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Dec. 13, 1938. c. J. MICHAL, JR

MACHINE GUN Filed Sept. 23, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Viz/ 5 w M I NRR W w 1 W Cmwaizzzafiam ORNEY.

Patented Decr 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE g Application September 23, 1036, Serial No. 102,100

9 Claims. (on. 42-09) My invention relates to machine-guns and to .devices for converting other fire-arms into machine-guns? More specifically my invention consists inuti- 5 lizing the motion of the recoiling parts of a fire-- arm, acting against the natural resiliency of the trigger-finger of the person firing the arm, to automatically release the safety mechanism of the fire-arm, and to discharge the same in regu l lar sequence.

Still more specifically my invention consists in so constructing my converter, that the converted fire-arm can be used at will as full automatic or semiautomatic.

ll Also itis-my object to provide means for holding the fire-arm in a safe position during automatic firing, and to provide a magazine holding many rounds, so that the full automatic features oi my converted fire-arm can be utilized to the utmost.

. My present invention is an improvement on that described, shown and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 713,479, filed March 1, 1934, which has matured into U. S. Patent No.

2,056,975, dated Oct. 13, 1936. a

In addition to the foregoing objects, I have worked out a number of novel and. useful details,

' which will be readily evident as the description progresses.

My invention consists in the novel parts, and in the combinations and arrangements thereofand especially in the converter, the magazine and the stock thereofwhich are defined in the appended claims; and of which one embodiment is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, which are hereinafter particularly described and explained.

Throughout the description, the same reference number is applied to the same member or to similar members.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my complete, invention, with the slide at recoil, and with the lever of the converter set for semi-automatic fire.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the fire-arm per se, with the slide in the forward position.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the fire-arm as shown in Figure 2, with the lever set for semi-.

automatic fire as in Figure l.

Figure 4 is a plan view, partly in section, of the shoulder piece of my weapon, taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 5.

Figure 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the shoulder piece of my weapon, taken along the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal partial section of the handle of the pistol, to which the shoulder piece as shown in Figure 4 is to be attached. It is taken along the lines 66 in Figure 7.

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the handle of 5 the'pistol taken along the lines l-l ofFigure 6.

Figure 8 is a vertical longitudinal "section of the forward grip of my weapon, showing the blast deflectors. It is taken along the line 88 of Figure 9. 10

' Figure 9 is an inclined cross-section of the blast-deflecting portion of my forward grip, taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 8.

Figure 10' is an enlarged side elevation of my improved converter, shown in place in Figures 1 15 and 3. It is taken along the line Ill-l0 of .Figure 11, and is with the lever set for semi-automatic fire.

I Figure 11 is an enlarged front elevation of my converter, with the lever set for semi-automatic 20 fire, taken along the line llll of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is an enlarged rear elevation of my converter, with the lever set for fully automatic fire, taken along the line l2--l2 of Figure 13.

Figure 13 is an enlarged side elevation of my 25 converter, with the lever set for fully automatic fire, taken along the line l3-l3 of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is an enlarged side elevation of the magazine of my weapon, the viewpoint being at a slant slightly to the rear of the viewpoint of 30 Figure 1.

Figure 15 is the follower-spring of my magazine disassembled.

Figure 16 is a rear elevation of the cover of my magazine, taken along the line l6l6 of 5 Figure 14.

Figure l'lis the view from the inside of the cover shown in Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a side view of thiscover, taken along the line Iii-l8 of Figure 17, it is partly 40 cut away to show the spiral spring inside.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Figure 2, it will be seen that this figure illustrates the conventional Colt automatic pistol of the United States Army,'with certain modifi- 5 cations which will become evident as the description progresses;

The Colt pistol, although ofiicially' called automatic", is really merely semi-automatic, i. e. autoloading and cocking only. 50

Thenormal operation of such a pistol will now be briefly sketched. Reference may be made to the well known operation of this fire-arm for further details.

A loaded magazine (not the improved magazine 55 shown in Figure 1) is placed in the handle Ii. Thismagazine normally contains nine cartridges, impelled upward by a spring; but my invention contemplates elongating this magazine so as to contain 36 cartridges, for example, in the .38- calibermodel.

The slide I2 is then drawn rearward (i. e., to the left in the figure) by hand. This action swings the hammer l3 counter-clockwise, depressing the hammer-strut it against compression of the mainspring IS. The notch IS on the hammer, catches on the upper point of the sear I1, the sear being forced counter-clockwise into engagement by the action of one leaf of the searspring l8.

The slide i2 is then let forward, under the infiuence of counter-recoil spring it, thus forcing a cartridge (not shown) into the chamber E9, in a manner well-known, and not constituting a part of my invention.

While the slide l2 was in its rearwardposition, the lower edge of the slide, by engaging the top of the disconnector 29, forced it down so that its lower end 2i came below the lower end 22 of the sear II. If, at such time, the trigger 23 had been pressed, the rear end 24 of the trigger slide would have pushed the lower end 2| of the disconnector harmlessly below the lower end 22 of the sear, and the pistol would not have been discharged.

But, with the slide l2 in returned forward position, and the upper end of the disconnector consequently seated in the notch 25 on the lower side of the slide (the disconnector being forced upward by the second leaf of the sear-spring l8), the lower end 2| of the disconnector is now in sufllciently raised position to engage the lower end 22 of the sear if the trigger be pulled, and thus trip the point H of the sear out of the notch l6 of the hammer, thus permitting the hammer l3 to fall upon the firing-pin 26, and discharge the piece.

The forces of recoil throw the slide I2 rearwardly again, thus cooking the hammer l3 as before. And the counter-recoil puts another cartridge in the chamber 59.

But, although the trigger 23 still: be held pressed, as the lower edge of the slide i2 forces down the head 20 of the disconnector, so that the lower end 2i of the disconnector is forced below 50 the level of the lower end 22 of the sear, thus permittingthe sear to rotate counter-clockwise to cock the piece, and preventing the continued pressure on the trigger from discharging the piece.

There is another safety device, involving the grip-safety 26, which is not involved in my invention, and hence will not be described, although its original operation is in no way impaired by the introduction of my invention.

If, after the slide has fully returned to its forward position, the trigger is released, the lower end 2! of the disconnector will move forward and upward, under the influence of the sear-spring I8, until it again engages the front edge of the lower end 22 of the sear, ready to fire upon renewed pressure of the trigger.

I have added to the conventional Colt pistol the converter 21, shown in place in Figures 1 to 3 (and the improved form of which will be described a bit later herein). 28 is its roller, 29 its pin, and 3| the screw about which it pivots.

I cut a slot in the side of the handle of the pistol for the pin 29, and insert it so that it will engage the rear of the trigger-slide 24, as shown in Figure 2. Such is the width of the trig slide 23 that the pin does not interfere with the disconnector 2i, although it appears to do so in the figure.

forward against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the man, thus disengaging the trigger-slide 24 from. the disconnector 2 I, and permitting the disconnector to return to firing-position the instant that counter-recoil is completed The pin 29 holds the trigger inoperative against the pressure of the trigger-finger. But, the instant that counter-recoil is completed, the roller 28 is free to move upward again, and consequently the pressure of the trigger-finger immediately again discharges the piece.

As a result, shots occur rhythmically with the cadence of recoil and counter-recoil of the piece.

The use of my converter has quite a different result from what would obtain if the disconnector were omitted, and the trigger-slide were lengthened to bear directly against the sear. For, in that case, the sear would merely be held out of engagement with the notch on the hammer, and the hammer would return at counter-recoil, with a force which might or might not discharge the piece, and might discharge the piece before counter-recoil had been safely completed.

' Whereas, in my invention, the hammer is succescoils with each shot into a position in which the hand which holds it is close to the right side of the flrers head, and the pistol is pointing diagonally upward to the rear. If, by virtue of my invention as thus far described, the'second shot were to occur when the piece was in this position, the result might be disastrous.

Accordingly I have added a second handle 32, secured to the piece by screws 33, fitting into a bar 33a welded to the conventional Colt frame. This handle is preferably made of aluminum.

My invention, as thus far. described, is identical to the stage of progress described, shown and claimed in my copending patent above identified.

I shall now describe a further improvement in my converter 21. Turning to Figures 10 to 13. we see that pin 29 is provided with a lever 34, with a projection 35, which moves on camway 36, as the lever rotates the pin. Pin 29 is also provided with a collar 31, against which bears a leaf-spring 38, tending to force the pin 29 to the-right in Figure 11, and to the left in Figure 12. Thus, when the lever 341s in the position shown in Figures 10 and 11. pin 29 is withdrawn from engagement with trigger-slide 24, and the weapon operates as a conventional Colt semi-automatic pistolrjust as though my converter had not been added to it. But, when the lever 34 is in the position shown in Figures 12 and 13, pin 29 is forced by spring 38 into engagement withtrigger-slide 24, and the weapon operates as a fully automatic machinegun as in my copending patent, above identified.

I shall now describe a further improvement in my auxiliary handle 32. It is now provided with a portion 39, which projects in front of the muzzle neutralizes both the upward and the let, to permit passage of the bullet without grazing. 7,

When the powder-blast, following the bullet out .of the muzzle 40, mushrooms out immediately upon leaving the muzzle, the vanes 43 deflect it upward. The prospectively smaller' holes divide the muzzle blast fairly proportionally over all the vanes. The muzzle-blast, by pressing downwardly and forwardly on the vanes, to a large extent rearward kick.

As thus far described, my invention, equipped with the conventional Colt 9-shot magazine, or with the slightly elongated 18-shot "magazine referred to in my above identified copending patent, can be carried in a shoulder holster, can be drawn instantly, and can be used at will either to fire single shots, or to loose a machine-gun blast without material recoil to disturb a steady aim.

But, if it be desired to use my weapon for more prolonged machine-gun fire, two further improvements of mine become pertinent.

The first of these two further improvements is the detachable shoulder-piece shown in Figures- 4 to 7. It is made detachable, so that my weapon can be carried in a shoulder holster and used as a pistol, when desired.

The bottom portion of the rear edge of the handle H is provided with an inwardly-spreading slot 45. The forward end of the shoulder piece 48 (preferably made in skeleton construction of aluminum) has two abutments 41 to engage the sides 48 of rear of the handle ll. portion of shoulder piece 46 is bored to accommodate a bolt 49. which terminates in a wedge 58. The bolt has a thumb-nut 5|.

To assemble the shoulder piece, slide the wedge- 58 up into the slot 45, and then tighten the thumb-nut 5i.

This arrangement of mine is preferable to other means for securing a shoulder-piece to a pistol, for it will not wobble.

The second of my two above mentioned further improvements is the magazine 52 shown in Figures 14 to 18.

Part 53 is identical to the conventional Colt magazine, but with the bottom removed. Parts 54 and 55 constitute the conventional Luger magazine, consisting of a truncated conical portion 54-, and a tangential portion 55. I connect these two magazines together by the intermediate portion 56. The angle (substantially 20) at which I set the Colt magazine to the Luger magazine constitutes an important feature of my inof the cartridges, which accordingly lie in echelon, nose up. Lugers follower is parallel to an element of his cone, and his portions 55 and 54 join his portion 53 at such an angle that the cartridges are. presented to portion 53 at the slant above referred to.

This construction requires, when filling his The rear vane is about 45, and the- The forward magazine, the insertion of the cartridges one by one, by means of a loading-tool, which is apt to get lost, and without whichthe owner of a Luger is helpless.

In a Colt, on the contrary, the cartridges lie with their bases very nearly parallel to the edge 8| of the portion 53, and hence may be loaded by hand through end I1, which. process is much more speedy, and has no tool to lose. I

Ofcourse, I could have modified my portion 53 by inserting a false back along edge 8i, and .then have employed the Luger portions 54 and 55 unmodified. But this would have necessitated using the loading tool, which I was seeking to eliminate.

I determined the angle of attachment between my portions 55 and 53 as follows. diagram of portions 53 and 5,6, I laid a cartridge in the proper position at end 11 of the diagram, and then laid other cartridges side by side upon the diagram until they reached the further end of portion 56. The angle between the base of the last cartridge, and the edge 8| of portion 53, was the angle employed by me for attaching portion 55. The reason why I could not simply employ the inclination of the base of the first cartridge, is due to a slight difference in width at point and base of the particular ammunition.

Furthermore, I found that, if a less angle were employed, the bullets would nose-down, upon emerging from end 11, and, instead of entering the chamber of the gun, would jam. Whereas, if, a greater angle were employed, the magazine would not load by hand. These considerations determine the exact angle for use with any particular caliber of gun and type of ammunition. In the exemplification shown, it happens to be 225.

The cover 57 of the Luger magazine has a truncated conical portion 58 which projects into the truncated conical portion 54 of the magazine, leaving between them a space 58 just .wide enough to \hold a row of cartridges. 1 have had to modify the depth of this cover, to fit American ammunition, but it remains functionally the same. Portion 58 contains a very powerful spiral spring 68. This spring is attached to shaft BI, and is initially set so as to hold follower 52 firmly against notch83 in guide 84. Keyed to the opposite end of 'shaft 6|, on the outside of cover 51, is lever 65. Pivoted on the outer end of lever 65 is a handle 88.

The spring 61, shown in Figure 15, is inserted 'with its wide end 68 in the Colt magazine 53,

Making a lower should be substantial, practically equiva lent to the other angle already d scussed, oreven slightly more. All this is empirical.

About twelve cartridges can be inserted in the Colt magazine in the ordinary way, until spring 81 is compressed to the utmost. To insert more cartridges, handle 86 is swung down to its ex; tended position, shown in dotted lines at ,the bottom of Figure 16. It, and lever 65, aret'hen rotated clockwise to the dotted position shown at the right in Figure 16. Plunger 'H (see Figures 14 and 18) is then depressed against its spring 12, until its foot 73, enters the wide portion 14 of the slot 15. Upon releasing the manual pressure on handle 66, foot 73 catches in the narrow portion iii of the slot.

Follower 62 is now in its fully retracted position, as shown dotted in Figure 17, and the rest of the cartridges can now be inserted by hand, at the end ll of the magazine, against merely the light pressure of spring 61!.

When the magazine has thus been charged, foot 13 is released from slot I5, and handle 66 is folded back into its normal position. The magazine is now ready for use.

It is to be understood that the cover 51 is not removed during this process, nor in fact ever except for repairs, it being secured in place by a single bolt through hole 18, and by screw 19 inserted in threaded hole 80.

All the features of my present invention contribute to a common end, namely the conversion of a Colt piston into a machine-gun. My improved converter enables this conversion to be accomplished at will, by the mere flip of a little lever 34. The optional substitution of my improved magazine enables me to use the weapon at will as a many-shot machine-gun, or as a few-shot pocket machine-gun. In either use, my combined auxiliary handle and blast-deflector is necessary to cut down the recoil and insure accurate aim. For regular machine-gun use, a shoulder-piece is necessary; but, for pocket use, would be in the way. Hence my removable shoulder-piece.

Having now described and illustrated one form of my invention, I wish it to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts hereinbefore described, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a semi-automatic fire-= arm, in which the trigger must be released between successive shots; of means, actuated by the recoil of a recoiling part, said means consisting of a converter operatively connecting said recoiling part with the trigger, whereby to force the release of the trigger against the tension in the ger-finger of the operator, and to permit this tension to pull the trigger upon the completion of counter-recoil; whereby the fire-arm is rendered fully automatic; and means to render the aforementioned means, while still attached to the pistol, inoperative at will.

2. In a machine-gun, having the conventional parts including stock, barrel, chamber, magazine, and means for ejecting exploded cartridges and for inserting new cartridges into the chamber, the'combination of: a slide; a hammer, so proportioned and positioned that the rearward motion of the slide, under the influence of recoil, will cock the hammer; means to lock the hammer cocked; a trigger, so proportioned and positioned that, after being pulled to fire the gun, it must move forward before it will be in condition to fire again; means, under the influence of the recoil ofthe slide, to thus move the trigger forward against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator, but leave it held in operative position against the pressure ofv the trigger-finger of the operator; 'means, under the influence of the counter recoil of the slide, to free the trigger for firing, under the influence of continued pressure of the trigger-finger; and means to render the lastmentioned means, while still attached to the pistol, inoperative at will.

3. In a machine-gun, having the conventional parts including stock, barrel, chamber, magazine,

and means for ejecting exploded cartridges and for inserting new cartridges into the chamber, the combination of: a slide; a hammer, so proportioned and positioned that the rearward motion of the slide, under the influence of recoil, will cock the hammer; a sear, to lock the hammer cocked; a trigger; a disconnector, so proportioned and positioned as to operatively connect the trigger to the sear when counter-recoil is completed, and to disconnect the trigger from the sear during recoil, and'to maintain that disconnection until the trigger is moved forward; means, under the influence of the recoil of the slide, to thus move the trigger forward against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator, but leave it held in operative position against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator; means, under the influence of the counter-recoil of the slide, to free the trigger for firing, under the influence of continued pressure of the trigger finger; and means to render the last-mentioned means, while still attached to the pistol, inoperative at will.

4. In a machine-gun, the combination of: a hammer; a sear; a trigger; a disconnector, so proportioned and positioned as to operatively connect the trigger to the sear when counterrecoil is completed, and to disconnect the trigger from the sear during recoil, and to maintain that disconnection until the trigger is moved forward; a recoiling part to actuate the disconnector; means, under the influence of the recoiling part, to move the trigger forward against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator, during recoil and holdv it released until the completion of counter-recoil; and means to render the lastmentioned means, while still attached to the pistol, inoperative at will.

5. In an attachment for converting a conventional semiautomatic pistol into a machine-gun, the combination of: a plate; a pivot therefor; a projection from the upper portion of the plate, to engage the under edge of the slide of the pistol during recoil and counter-recoil, thereby forcing and holding the upper portion of the plate to the rear and its lower portion forward, and releasing and permitting the upper portion of the plate to move forward and its lower portion to move rearwardly upon the completion of counterrecoil; a projection from the lower portion of the plate, engaging the rear of the trigger of the pistol, thereby forcing and holding the trigger forward against the pressure of the triggerfinger of the person firing the pistol during recoil and counter-recoil, and releasing the trigger for firing under continued pressure of the triggerflnger upon the completion of counter-recoil; and means for withdrawing the second projection at will, while still attached to the pistol.

6. In an attachment for converting a conventional semi-automatic pistol into a machinegun, the combination of: a pivoted element; a projection therefrom, for engaging a recoiling element of the pistol; a second projection from the pivoted element, for forcing the trigger of the pistol forward against the trigger-finger of the operator, whereby the trigger is moved into pre-firing position against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator and is held inoperative during recoil and counter-recoil, and is instantly released for firing under continued pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator, upon the completion of counter-recoil; means for withdrawing the second projection at will, while still attached to the pistol.

and

pressure of' the trigger-finger of the operator,.

upon the completion of counter-recoil; and means for withdrawing the second projection at will, while still attached to the pistol.

8. In an attachment for converting a conventional semi-automatic pistol into a. machine-gun, the combination of: an actuated element, actuated by a. recoiling element of the pistol; an actuating element, engaging the. trigger of the pistol, to shift the trigger in the release direction against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator during recoil, and hold it thus shifted until the completion of counter-recoil, and thereupon to free the trigger for action under the pressure of the trigger-finger of the-operator;

ative connection, while leaving the attachment still attached to the pistol.

9. In an attachmentfor converting a conventional semi-automatic pistol into a machine-gun, the combination of: an actuated element, actuated by a recoiling element of the pistol; anactuating element, engaging the trigger of the pistol, to shift the trigger in the release direction against the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator during recoil, and hold it thus shifted until the completion of counter-recoil, and thereupon to free the trigger for action under the pressure of the trigger-finger of the operator; an operative connection between the 'actuated element and the actuating element; and means for withdrawing the actuating element from engagement with the trigger, while leaving the attachment still attached to the pistol.

CHARLES J. MICHAL, JR. 

